Love at first sight: Couples tell us their stories

“THE FOUNDING MYTH OF OUR STORY”

SONIA, 43 YEARS OLD, MARRIED, 10-YEAR-OLD TWINS, WINE MERCHANT.”

“I was divorced, single but not expecting or waiting for for anything… I was irritated about queuing in a taxi line, I couldn’t stop looking at my watch. The man in front of me asked me in which direction I was going. It turns out that we were both going to the 6th district of Lyon. He asked me “Shall we share the same taxi?” Completely my kind of man, a countryman of the Southwest. In the taxi, I was as talkative as he was reserved. He gave me his business card specifying “Call me, do not worry, I am not going to propose to you.” I answered, “Why not? So far I’ve played everything by the rules and that finished in two divorces!” Three months later, we moved in together. Nine months later, we got married. Not sensible? So what? This love at first sight is the wonderful secret, the founding myth of our story which has lasted for three years so far.”

“THE MAD LOVE… AT THE WRONG TIME”

WENDI, 36 YEARS, ENGAGED IN A DIVORCE PROCEDURE, A 4-YEAR-OLD GIRL, ORTHO-PROSTHETIST AND LOCAL COUNCILLOR.”

“While going through a divorce, I wanted to be alone. I have always been in a relationship, I saw myself living a quiet life, without a guy, just sharing my life between my job and my daughter. And… just at this moment, I fall in love at first sight with a married man. It’s not like me. It is neither a good moment, nor a good context, but between us, it is mad love. We met during a political gathering. It is more his charisma, his way of seeing the politics that electrified my senses. We rallied together in the last municipal elections. Our first kiss was on a rainy day, under an umbrella, hyper romantic. I have never had this complicity with a man. I have the impression of having found my soulmate, ideal love, even if this relation is going to have difficulty in evolving. He is taken, I am going through a divorce… We send passionate e-mails, we see each other in secret. I feel possessed, I feel bad because it is the opposite of what I had wished, and at the same time, what I see is magic. Maybe it is a good remedy in the torments of the divorce… ”

“AS A SECOND CHANCE”

EVE, 45 YEARS, MARRIED, A 25-YEAR-OLD SON, REAL ESTATE AGENT.

“At an alumni gathering, I found the one who had already caught my eye when I was a law student. The memories of the faculty and our ardent glances came flooding back. Both already committed at the time, it went no further… And there, the flash again! It is the past which re-appears, as a second chance. At the event, we drank, chatted, exchanged our numbers. This time, we consumed this thunderbolt love, but it was still complicated: Jean-Charles has two small children and I was getting ready to leave Paris for Toulouse. Our idyll have lasted for two weeks, but it is possible that I have destroyed my life. I found my youth with him. And nevertheless, it is not a good moment, he is married and I am about to leave. The horror.”

“THIS MEETING GAVE ME THE STRENGTH TO DIVORCE”

ORIANE, 38 YEARS, DIVORCED, CHILDLESS, COMMUNITY MANAGER.

“I am a rational, sensible woman. I was still married when I met Amine, at an associative event. In a way, by his expressions, his interpersonal skills, he reminded me of my father, whom I lost while I was an adolescent. As soon as I saw him, I was disturbed, then we got acquainted and I liked his philosophy of life, his ideas. He is someone very open, modern and cultivated. The ideal man, according to my criteria. But it was an unshared love at first sight.

Amine was married and, although sensitive to my charm, he liked me as a friend. He was doubtless the man of my dreams, but regrettably it was not mutual. This meeting made me reconsider my marriage, and I was no longer able to fool myself: I was bored with my spouse, our exchanges had become hyper bland. It didn’t suit me any more. This unexpected love gave me the strength to ask for a divorce. I was 34 years old then, the I had my life in front of me and the desire to one day meet somebody like Amine, with whom I would have real affinities. That was a positive revelation.”